The Curse of Arestella
by Nell McFalon
Summary: Harry returns to Hogwarts for his sixth year but something stange is going on. One of Grindelwald's powerful objects has been found, and an old curse revived that has turned Harry's world upside down. And a Longbottom arrives as the new DADA teacher.
1. Of dreams and football

Harry twisted violently under his sheets, eyes racing under their lids. His pleasant insubstantial dream shifted quickly and a new scene broke. The room he was in was as dark as the night that surrounded it. There was a rap on the door then a pause and then three quick taps. A weep came from the woman whose arms he was in.  
  
"Quick, through the passage in the back room." Though too dark to see, Harry knew who had spoken: his father. Immediately, he was hoisted up and there was shuffling about and then silence again. There was a terrible rush and the sound of the door in the next room being blown off the hinges. "Lily go! I'll hold him off."  
  
"No!"  
  
"GO! GET OUT!" The dream suddenly blurred into a chaotic sequence of screams and green flashes.   
  
Harry bolted upright in his bed, panting as though he had just finished a race. He glanced at the clock: 5:23 //A whole minuet more// Harry thought. It had been the same dream he'd been having all summer, every morning at the same time, but it had grown. It had started off as no more than the green flashes and the screams, but the dream grew longer and more vivid each night. Harry had become so accustomed to having the dream that he could time exactly how much longer it got each night. His thoughts, however, were broken by the usual 5:30 alarm from his aunt and uncle's room and the even more usual groan of Uncle Vernon as he rolled out of bed and thudded down the corridor to the bathroom. Today however was no usual day, and Harry did not forget it. He leaped from his bed throwing his nightclothes into a ball on top of his trunk and pulling out fresh jeans and a gray Compton Panthers football t-shirt, from the trunk. Today he returned to Hogwarts for his sixth year. Today he would see Ron and Hermione and at night fall asleep in his own four poster bed. Voldemort or no Voldemort he was glad to be going back and leave the Dursley's behind.  
  
But he had to admit, life at Privet Drive had definitely improved since the previous summer. After being threatened by a gang of scatterbrained wizards, the Dursley's were terrified that they would show up and blast them to pieces. And while they showed no sympathy for the death of Harry's godfather, none was expected from Harry's side an. Dudley's gang avoided him completely and the Dursley's ignored him whenever possible. He was given adequate amounts of food and necessary clothing when he asked for it, but no more.   
  
From the minuet they pulled into number four Privet Drive, Harry made a decision. This summer was going to be different. It had to be or else the ennui of it all would drive him to insanity. He decided to occupy every free second he had so not to over think the things he had been dreading most. He got a job moving lawns throughout the development, work that the owners graciously gave to him, even if he was that "strange potter boy". By the third week of the vacation he had mowed every lawn on his street except for the Dursley's, which he did not offer to mow nor was asked to. The money which he made bought him his daily coffee which compensated for his restless nights and the train fares, as well as a few additional treats for to himself. He took the train everyday, save the weather was permitting, across town to the public park, a place where Harry doubted the Dursley's had ever been. This side of town was much different than where he lived. It was the home to many of the rather poor families and the park was no more than a football field with two rusting goals and plenty of weeds and a basketball court, but he liked it there and went whenever possible, despite his doubts about Dumbledore's approval of him straying so far. He however, still kept wand at hand and on his guard at all times.   
  
He was taught, by the other boys, who knew only that his name was Harry and no more, the rules of football, and quickly caught on remembering back to the days of elementary school. He frequently joined in on their unorganized games and found he enjoyed them nearly as much as Quidditch. Nearly.   
  
Harry searched the corners of his room to be sure he left nothing behind and packed the final things into his trunk setting Hedwig's cage on top. She pecked angrily at the bars of her cage for waking her up. "Sorry Hedwig. You'll be able to get out once we're at school." The mail had been flowing in quite heavily all summer but the outflow was much less. He, while pleased to hear from his friends, knew not how to respond to their letters. It sounded as though something was being planned from Ron and Ginny's letters and was sure of it from the one letter he received from Dumbledore, even though nothing could be said directly due to the chance of interception. And there was also the daily newspaper. The ministry had definitely changed their position on the return of Voldemort, but nothing was being done. Harry of course hadn't expected them to do anything drastic, not while Fudge was in office, which would surly not be much longer as he had gone through two strikes with the wizarding population and one more mistake would send him down the drain.   
  
Harry pulled on his tunic and headed for the door. His uncle caught him before it slammed shut. "You'll be back by ten o'clock."  
  
"Yes, Uncle." Harry responded simply and turned away down the drive. He walked briskly out to the main avenue and then the four blocks to the café, where he spent the last of the money he earned on a cup of coffee and a raspberry scone. He took his time walking back and sipped slowly at the cup of warm liquid and marveling at the thought of using magic again. It had been six whole weeks since he last used it or seen another wizard or witch his age. He had not even been to Diagon ally but instead sent his list to the Weasley's with a sack of Galleons and asked them to pick up the few books he would need for the upcoming year.   
  
When ten o'clock rolled around Harry was waiting in the back seat of the car chortling at the look on his uncle's face. 


	2. The journey home

The better part of the drive to King's Cross Station went rather smoothly. Uncle Vernon made no attempt to sustain a conversation, and for that Harry was grateful. The silence was filled with his uncle's classical works of Beethoven and Prokofiev. As they neared London, the number of cars on either side of them steadily increased. Once on the main streets, traffic of work-goers nearly slowed them to a stop. Harry could see Uncle Vernon growing impatient.   
  
  
  
After a five minuet wait at an intersection, Vernon snapped. He slammed on the gas pedal, cursing, thrusting Harry backwards against the seat. They flew across the intersection and headed straight for a multi-level bus. Harry's Uncle didn't seam to notice. "Stop! Look out!" Harry yelled and braced himself for the impact, but there was none. The instant before they should have crashed, the bus vanished.   
  
"What's wrong with you boy! Are you off your head? Yelling like you've split!"   
  
"but-sorry Uncle, I dozed off." He realized, his uncle hadn't seen the bust at all. Harry smiled. //The Knight Bus//  
  
Once he had gathered his wits again, Harry became more aware of his surroundings. They were now plugging down a rather dark and depressing alley that debased, in Harry's mind, the grandiose reputation given to the city. They were also heading in the opposite direction of the station. When he pointed this out to Uncle Vernon, he was told they were taking a 'shortcut'.   
  
Harry glanced nervously at his watch every few minuets or so. 10:42. "We're cutting it awful close," Harry said to subtly remind his uncle of the time. He was given no response. Just when Harry was about to burst they broke out onto the main street, a block away from the station. 10:54. "Drop me at the doors, we've got no time to park," he said feeling somewhat resentful towards Vernon, knowing the shortcut was taken intentionally to waste time. His uncle pulled to a stop and smirked. Harry jumped from the car without any goodbyes and proceeded to dump his trunk and Hedwig's cage onto a cart.  
  
He sped through the station, narrowly missing numerous people, tipping on two wheels as he turned corners. When the platform was within sight, he slowed to a casual walk so to avoid suspicious eyes. Once on the other side of the platform, he sped for the train. He threw his belongings into the isle of the train just as it began to chug out of the station. Curious heads poked out of nearby compartments to find the source of the mad squawking: Hedwig. Harry quickly piled everything onto his trunk and dragged it down the isle peeking into compartments until at last he found the one he was looking for.   
  
"Harry!" Hermione leaped up and threw her arms around his shoulders.   
  
"Hi!" he couldn't help but smile at the sight of his friends.   
  
"Good to see you, mate! We'd thought you didn't make it in time." Ron and he shook hands. In that minuet he felt happier than he had since he could remember, there with his friends. They were all there: Ron, Hermione, Neville, Ginny, Luna and Seamus. After hoisting his things onto the luggage rack, he squeezed between Ginny and Ron.   
  
"How was your summer?" Luna asked him.  
  
"Good." He wasn't sure if he was being truthful or not but didn't know how else to respond. "Yours?"  
  
"Lovely, My dad and I spent four whole weeks in Australia, studying the Blue Tailed Opossum, for a special issue of the Quibbler."  
  
"Did you find anything?" Neville inquired.  
  
"So glad you asked. Dad found a new, more accurate cure for the everlasting hiccups. When you grind up their tails and add it to a Bay Nut potion it helps a lot faster than Mollusk Meat."  
  
"Fascinating," Seamus tried to muffle a laugh.   
  
"So, what happened, Harry? I mean, why so late?" said Hermione.  
  
"Uncle Vernon just playing jokes. Nearly crashed."  
  
The ride went quickly, as they all engaged in telling about their summers. While Harry was glad to hear how Ginny helped in the twins shop all summer, he couldn't help but feel anxious. He was dying to ask about the order but didn't dare, not with Seamus there. He wouldn't understand, he wasn't part of the events at the end of the last semester. He caught Ron's eye numerous times pleading for information. Ron hissed in his ear, "We'll talk tonight." The talking became more bearable once Neville told them of his news, which Harry had also been longing for.  
  
"We've finally got a real Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher again!"  
  
He was attacked by a chorus of, "Who?"  
  
Neville smiled, "My cousin! Matt-Matthew Longbottom."  
  
They were all silent for moments afterward until Hermione congratulated him, "Neville that's wonderful! You've never told us you had a cousin."  
  
"He's my only one."  
  
"Well, what's he like?" Ginny prompted.  
  
"Blimey, you'll love him! He's 23 now, I think. And he knows almost everything about anything you could want to know. And he's good at Quidditch. He used to be a beater for Gryffindor before Fred and George. He played with your brother Charlie. In fact, he's the one who taught me how to play when he visited a few years ago, but wasn't very good at explaining it." Neville spattered all in one breath. Harry had the distinct feeling though, no one could easily explain to Neville, the more complex rules of Quidditch. "I haven't seen him since that one time he visited. He just disappeared. Then he wrote to Gram about a week ago to say he got a teaching job at school."  
  
"You mean to say he just left?"  
  
Everyone had the same impression that nothing could be good about his disappearance. From what they knew, Longbottoms, while their intentions were good, had a tendency to get in over their heads.  
  
The train whistle echoed through out the compartments signaling their entrance in the station. Ron and Hermione exchanged farewells and set off to attend to their Prefect duties. The remaining five slipped on their robes over their street clothes and joined the queue of students pushing to get off the train. When Harry stepped out into the brisk evening air a chill ran down his spine, simultaneously he caught sight of the Thestrals attached to the carts. Hermione and Ron were both standing open-mouthed staring at a pair of them. Harry strolled over, trying to push thoughts of Sirius away. "Shouldn't you Prefects be with those first years?"   
  
Hermione replied dazedly not turning from the Thestrals, " Hagrid's got it covered, Small group this year. Very small." 


End file.
